Has anyone gone to LPL’s website and completed the Online Registration Kit? I have been talking to LPL and they advised me to do this to get the ball rolling as far checking my U4 and stuff. Seems harmless but I thought I would see if anyone completed this. Any downside to doing this?

It’s 100% harmless, IMHO. If you complete and submit the online registration kit, you’ll be contacted by LPL about proceeding. At that point, if you’re not sure that you want to proceed, you will get 0 pressure to do so and your current BD will be none the wiser regarding your “shopping”. Good luck!

Thanks. Also, there seems to be a lot in the kit, almost making it look like a contract of sorts. It has things in it like Outside Business Activity form, a reference letter that goes to my existing b/d upon resignation, background check, and then 20+ pages of what is called "Representative Agreement"which talks about LPL’s obligations as well as mine. The Rep Agreement also outlines payout on different products and how much I would pay my office manager. Perhaps I’m being overly cautious, but should I have any hesitation about signing this kit and sending it back to LPL? They have told me that nothing is done and no contact is made with my existing b/d until I actually resign. Thoughts?

The one thing I always worried about was a credit inquiry showing up with LPL’s name on it. If your B/D happened to run your credit and noticed that, I would think it would be a red flag. Probably a remote chance of that happening, but it might be worth asking the question.

LPL’s transition people has done this for thousands of advisors and potential advisors over the years. Don’t you think they know a little about how to get things done without tipping off the current firm?

Having just moved to LPL, I can tell you that there are two types of credit checks. The first is a soft check which only you will see on your credit report - no one else can see it. RJ and Cambridge run this type of check.

LPL will run a hard check - meaning that everyone can see it. So if you fear your employer is scanning your credit report, you may want to leave the credit check till the last minute.
LPL can do everything else beforehand and there is no problem in filling out their online forms. It is not a contract until your licenses onboard with LPL.
Before doing all of that, however, I would suggest you talk to an LPL recruiter. Just call LPL and ask who your regional recruiter is and they will put you in contact with them.

I know for a fact that Jones routinely runs credit checks on FAs to see if they're looking elsewhere.[/quote]
I'm almost afraid to ask, but how do you know that it's a fact that Jones runs a credit check for that purpose? Did it show up on your credit report that Jones pinged it? I'm always amazed at the "facts" that I learn around here.

When I first started working here, I called my field supervision director to ask him a question, and he volunteered that tidbit and a few other helpful nuggets of information about the firm’s covert ops on its employees.

He was getting ready to leave, so he had nothing to lose by giving me the heads-up.
I certainly appreciated it.

It was on my credit report, when I went to buy my car, and it was rather recently(just before I left) not when I was hired.

I'm not at all surprised that a firm does this when an employee is showing signs of not being 100% on board. Employers could save a lot of credit check charges if they would just keep their employees happy. My employer NEVER runs a credit check on me...